Okay, dead of winter..cold, white or grey….I need some color (other than in my hair!). One of the galleries that represents my work decided to have a ‘Small Works, GREAT WONDERS’ show of miniature paintings from selected artists within the gallery. I usually do landscapes for this gallery, however, for this show I decided to go with something different. I love spheres and small things that look like spheres; that could be tiny boxes that are circular in shape, small colored balls out of those machines in some shops where you pay 25 cents and out drops one of them, and then there’s marbles. I love marbles! When I was a child the marble games were popular just around this time of year when the snow started to melt. It’s rather nostalgic but I decided to take a few photos of marbles in different lighting and with props and choose a couple of those images to make as my contribution of mini paintings to the gallery. This one is called ‘Freedom’s Calling’….(escaping from the jar!) and is 5 inches x 7 inches, painted in oil on gesso-board. The style is ‘hyper-realism,’ very similar to photorealism. I enjoyed the process of painting them, a departure from my usual realist/impressionistic style. I hope you find this little painting brings you back to your childhood days and gives you a chuckle. Cheers!